His playing style showed measures of both St. Louis and Chicago blues, and the influence of others, particularly Leroy Carr.
His best efforts were reserved for the erotic, "Snake Hip Blues", and the perhaps autobiographically inspired twosome of " Poor Coal Loader" and "Will my Bad Luck Ever Change?
"[3] One blues historian suggested there is some evidence that Frank James may have been born in Alabama, but learned his music in St. Louis, Missouri.
The same source thought that his birth name could have been James Hairston, largely based upon the credits on record labels of his work.
[4] In 1934, under the name of Frank James he had four sides released by Champion,[4] and seemingly on Varsity Records, the latter of which was owned by Eli Oberstein.
They were recorded in Richmond, Indiana, in August 1934, with only "Snake Hip Blues" offering some relief from the others dealing with feeling lonesome, forsaken, or mistreated.
Whereas before he had recorded solo with just his piano playing as accompaniment to his singing, these later waxings used a fuller sound by adding a guitarist, Willie Bee James.